Poultry feeding trough



I vApril 2,1935. V E. D.VSC-HLEGVEL 1,996,696"

POULTRY FEEDING TROUGH Filed April 20, 1933 INVENTOR 7 7w ATTORNEY Patented Apr. i935 N E ST E T NT I l v n 'rov -rnrxfifi fi ncn a l t I t Eamon. Schlegel, N. y. v

Application s on 20, 933. Serial No. 867,081 a 0mm. (01'. ua-rz) The invention relates to a battery feed saver for brooders, chicken coops and the like. p y

The object of the present invention is to im-r prove the construction of batteryfeeders for batis tery brooders although it is who understood this term is intended to include chicken eoops and the I like in which feed troughs are arranged in a vertical series or battery and detachably mounted in position on the breeder or chicken coop at, the various compartments thereofv for supplying 'chickensand other fowls of all sizes with feed. and to provide simple; practical and eiilcient means for preventing unconsumed feed from being scattered over the floor or dropping pan and there-' by becoming fouled or unfit for foodand wasted.

A further'object of the invention isto provide for the superimposed feed troughs anatta'chment adapted to save the feedwhichis scattered by the chickens or-other fowls and cause the seats t'ered feedto pass downward from; one trough to another and from the bottom trough into a receptacle so that feed scattered in one trough may be consumed in another trough and the feed scattered in the bottom trough collected inareceptacle in a condition in which it may be used again until flnally consumed by the fowls;

7 Another object of the invention is to provide an attachment of this character adapted to be applied to troughs of various constructions, and capable of forming a passageway for the scattered feed to deliver the same from one trough to another or to the bottom receptacle and atthe same time forma shield or guard-to prevent such feed from being scattered over the floor. of the com-, partment containing the chickens-or other fowl using the feed trough.

Another object of the'invention is provide a' battery food saver which will insure nothing but'the best feed ,being'eaten by poultry so that the poultry may beprevented fromconsuming dirt and gravel and-to feed a perfectly balanced without waste. and with a saving of from I as twenty-five to ilfty percent of the feed.

.Another objectof the invention is to enble a sufncient "quantity of feed'to-be-supplied to chickens and other fowl to last an entire day so thatonly asingle feeding will be required and the'chickens and other fowl will alwayshave a supply of food in front ofthem and will eat more feed and increase in weight more rapidly than when the feed is supplied at. intervals during the day and-:there are periods when .there is practi-q. 1

cally no feed in the feed troughs.

A further object of the invention is to provide an attachmentwhich may be readily manufactured at a low cost and which may be easily plied to'an ordinaryfeed"trough of the battery type without materially increasing; the cost of wasted will in a very short time moreythan compensate for any increase inthecost of the-feed troughs.

"thesame so that the savingqof feed heretofore (Furthermore it is or object or session to prevent any I ithe feed from, mixing with the droppings so that the latter maybe used as a fertilizer without souringothe ground as is the case when a considerable quantity of feed is scat- Witll these 'tered over the floor ordropping pan.

and other objects in mime m- 'vention-consists in the construction and novel "claims, may {from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. g

be resorted to without departing Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of. a portion of a-battery brooder provided, with a battery of invention.

feed savers constructed in accordancewith this V Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the feed troughs provided with my improvements. v In the accompanying drawing in whichisillustrated' the preferred embodiment ofothe invention I" designates a battery brooder which is proi'vided at the front with a battery of feed'troughs 2 arranged one above another in a vertical series. 1 The battery may consist of any. number of feed troughs as be readily understood,- but for convenience of illustration only two of the battery of feed troughs are illustrated in the drawingrv The battery breeder-which may be of any desired 4 construction is'preierably in the form ofa cage divided into a 1 "zontal floors or partitions 3 preferably consisting plurality of compartments by horiof'retic'ulated material such as'woven wire. and

supported by channel members 4 having upper;

and lower horizontal flanges 5 and 6 I d a vertical connecting web. 1

compartment flange 5. the floor of the 1 and the lower flange provides a convenient support for a dropping pan 8 located beneath the-floor I and adapted to catchthe droppings in-the usual manner. I j The feed troughs are preferably constructed or galvanized sheet metal orbther suitable material and each feed trough consists of a bottom 9, inner portion which is adapted to direct the feed inwardly so that there will always be a quantity of feed at the inner portion of the feed trough until the same is practically consumed. The inner and outer side walls are vertical and are provided at their upper edges with horizontal flanges II and I4 projecting inwardly over thefeed trough. The end walls are tapered upwardly and have lower edges conforming to the configuration of the bottom of the feed trough. The inner edges ii of the end walls 12 are vertical and the upper edges are inclined and are preferably rolled to form a bead it within the upper'portions of which are secured shanks I! of hooks l8 adapted to engage portions of the cage for assisting in supporting the feed trough detachably thereon.

. Each feed trough is provided at its inner side with an auxiliary innerwall, I 9 consisting of a plate or piece of sheet metal arranged in spaced relation to the inner side wall I ll of the feed trough to provide a passageway for the scattered feed for causing the feed which would otherwise be wasted to pass downward from one feed trough to another and from the bottom'feed trough to a receptacle 2| whereby the feed which is ordinarily. .wasted will be either consumed in one feed trough or another or finally collected in the receptacle 2| for subsequent use. I The auxiliary inner wall l9 consists of a verti-' cal body portion and a downwardly and outwardly inclined lower portion 22 constituting a deflecting flange and arranged to project over the next lower trough or over the'receptacle 2!, as clearly illustrated in Fig.1 of the drawing. The inclined deflecting flange isprovided with endwalls 22 and forms a chute for directing the feed into a feed trough or the receptacle 2|. The vertical body portion of the auxiliary wall is extended above the plane of the upper edge of the inner wall ll of the feed trough'to form a. guardfor effectually preventing any meal or other feed from being billed or scattered onto the floor of the brooder or chicken coop.

The auxiliary wall I! is rigidly connected with the feed trough in spaced relation with the inner wall thereof by means of a plurality of approximately U-shaped brackets 24 preferably located at the centra'i and end portions of the auxiliary wall, as clearly illustrated in 'Fig. 2 of the drawing, and consisting of vertical portions and upper lower horizontal portions which are soldered or otherwise secured tothe-flange l3 and to the bottom of the feed trough. The brackets are secured to the auxiliary wall I! by rivets 25 which alsopass through the shanks 26 of hooks 21 which engage'over the upper. edge of a plate or frame Y meinber 28 of theframe of the cage which constitutes the brooder or chicken coop. The hooks l8 and 21 firmly anddetachably support the feed trough in position at the front of the ccmpartv ment I. I a v The compartment I is open above the upper edge of the plate 28 and the chickens or other fowls are-prevented from entering the feed trough by means of an adjustable inclined screen 29 hinged atits upper edge by means ofrings 30 to the framework of the cage and extending down- .wardly andv outwardly and-adapted to have its lower edge fitted in notches 3| of brackets 32 consistingof strips of sheet metal angularly bent'tO 34 and a connecting portion which offsets the flange 34 from the wall. As the chickens or other fowls increase in size the inclined screen is adjusted to provide suflicient space between the flange l3 and the screen to permit ready access to the feed within the feed trough.

The receptacle 2| is removably supported in suitable brackets 35 preferably consisting of a horizontal supporting portion, an inner vertical attaching portion 36 and an outer upwardly extending retaining portion 31 which confines the receptacle in the brackets 35. Any other suitable means may of course be employed for detachably supporting the receptacle in position beneath the lower feed trough toreoeive feed passing downward through the space or passageway 20 thereof.

In operation the feed troughs of the batteries are supplied with feed and are mounted in position on the cage in front of the compartments thereof and the inclined screens are adjusted to suit the size of thechickens or other poultry. A suiflcient quantity of feed may be placed inthe trough to last an entire day without danger of any of the feed becoming wasted. l

A supply of food will be maintained in front of the chickens or other poultry at all times and the auxiliary walls which form guards and which provide passageways for the scattered feed will prevent, the feed from being wasted and the scattered, feed will be either consumed in the va; rious feed troughs or collected in the receptacle 2|. 7 v

, Whatisclaimed is:-

' 1. A battery feed trough designed to be mounted on a battery brooder and having an inner vertical side wall and provided with an inner auxiliary wall arranged exteriorly of the said side wall in spaced relation with the same, approximately U-shap'ed brackets secured to the auxiliary wall and having'their terminal portions. secured to the feed trough at thetop and bottom of the inner side wall, and hookssecured to the inner auxiliary wall and arranged, to engage the brooder. p

2. A battery feed trough designed to be mounted on a battery brooder and-having an inner side 7 wall, an inner auxiliary wall'rigidly connected with the trough in spaced relation with the inner side wall to form a space or passage for scattered feed, and hooks secured to the inner auxiliary, wall and'arranged to engage the brooder.

,3. A battery feed saver comprising a plurality of detachable troughs arranged in a vertical series one above another on a battery brooder, each of said troughs having an inner vertical side wall and provided with an inner auxiliary wallarranged exteriorly of the inner side wall in spaced relation with the same and forming a passage'for saving scattered feed and provided at the bottom at the inner side of the trough with means for: directing feed outwardly into a lower trough, and means for detachably securing-the inner side oi the trough with an outlet and provided at the bottom with means for directing it outwardly into a lower trough, means for detachably securing the feed troughs to a chicken coop and for permitting the troughs to be removed and replaced individually, a receptacle located at the bottom of the series of said troughs in position to receive feed from the passage of the said lower trough, and a bracket removably supporting the receptacle beneath the bottom trough.

5. A battery poultry feeder comprising a plurallty of troughs tor detachable connection in a 'said troughs having at a battery brooder. each of its inner side an upright side wall and an auxiliary upright wall secured in spaced relation to said side wall, said walls forming between them a passage for saving scattered seed having a lower outlet for guiding the seed into the next lower-most trough, and means carried by each trough detachably engaging the broader to permit individual removal and revertical series with placement or the troughs, including hook mem- 10 bers in connection with said inner side wall.

' EDWARD D. SCHLEGEL. 

